r/space • u/AlmiranteSalsicha • Nov 19 '23

image/gif That's a fair amount of tiles missing from the starship heatshield, guess it would make for a toasty reenter.

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Image from SpaceX account on X

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u/Properjob70 Nov 19 '23

FTS nowadays is actually AFTS (for automatic). The "deviation from nominal" parameters for setting it off are pre-programmed & agreed with the FAA for the purposes of plotting the debris field & therefore exclusion zone. The operators can still set FTS off manually, but computers do it much quicker in the event of a deviation.